Across the Seasons – publication launch and summary of Progress and Seasons programme

Becoming aware of the power with which technology affects us often becomes the first step in questioning whether we still have the strength and desire to keep up.  The closing of the public programme Progress and Seasons in 2024 is a time to take a moment and talk about it together. Join us for a meeting with Kasia Janota and the launch of publications by the programme’s curators, Iwona Kałuża and Joanna Synowiec. The paper publications will be available for free.

Modern technologies are changing at a pace which is different to that of nature and mankind. As the technological disruption (1) is gaining momentum, natural and social destruction is also accelerating. In addition to the traditionally understood trash, the waste in these processes turns out to be the things that have hitherto defined us as human beings, i.e. thinking, relationships, bonds or creative skills. Becoming aware of the power with which technology affects us often becomes the first step in questioning whether we still have the strength and desire to keep up.

During the meeting, we will jointly summarise the Progress and Seasons series as well as reflect on what thinking and design “across” could be – across information bubbles (2), platforms and established ways of thinking which assume that the most complex problems are best solved by technology (e.g. an app, an algorithm or a machine).

Workshop/seminar with Kasia Janota  

How do we tap into the values that, as French philosopher Chantal Jacquet put it, “lie fallow”? What do we need to define the common good (4) and collective intelligence of transitional times that will help us learn, develop and mature together? Should the technologies that will support these processes be, as British designer and creative technologist James Bridle wonders , “more like octopuses, more like mushrooms or more like forests?”.

The meeting will be a workshop/seminar, a lecture followed by a talk. No prior preparation is required.

Launch of publications

At around 6 pm the meeting will be followed by the launch of two publications summarising the Progress and Seasons programme.

The book Progress. On Innovation in the People’s Republic of Poland, prepared by Iwona Kałuża and Grzegorz Czekański, examines the forgotten National Exhibition of Invention and Technological Progress held in 1954. It features a brief description of the exhibition with selected innovations it showcased. The publication is complemented by Agata Szydłowska’s essay on consumerism before the time of The Thaw and an interview with Michał Zaborski, a rationaliser from the “Pafawag” State Wagon Factory in Wrocław.

The book Seasons. Exercises in Event Repetition is a collection in which field exercises become everyday practice and their repetitiveness allows for deep reflection on the environment and its stories. The publication includes Małgorzata Piszczek’s description of three walking routes through the post-natural area of the Irrigation Fields and Rędziński Forest, a conversation with birdwatcher and writer Stanislaw Łubieński on why we should follow and observe birds all year round, and a short text on the false light that deprives us of the sensation of darkness. Additionally, the winter section features some space for the readers.

If you need an English-Polish or Ukrainian-Polish interpreter, please write to us by 10 December 2024 at the latest at sekretariat@bwa.wroc.pl. If you need assistance in getting to the event, write or call us: 888 369 039; wroclawglowny@bwa.wroc.pl.

Glossary of Terms:  

(1) Technological disruption – a breakthrough solution or a nexus of technological solutions that significantly affect various aspects of our lives. The Silicon Valley innovators express it with the quote Move fast and break things. The opposite of disruptive action is the solarpunk slogan Move slow and plant things. 

(2) Information bubbles – situations in the digital world where algorithms provide information that is in line with your views, thus surrounding you with other people who think the same way. The lack of diversified information and space for discussion or exchange of counter-arguments exacerbates social and political divisions. In extreme cases, it may foster the spread of disinformation and fake news.

(3) Techno-solutionism – a belief that the most complex problems are best solved by technology, e.g. applications, algorithms or machines.

(4) Common good (according to Monika Kotera) – a complex, collective value shared by mankind. It is supported by such things as solidarity, friendship, community, entrepreneurship or activism. 

About the presenter:

KATARZYNA JANOTA – strategist, designer, educator. Teaches design at the AGH University of Science and Technology, SWPS University and Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice. Co-creator of Tuser, a solution supporting social skills training for children. Co-founder and president of the Grupa Robocza Foundation. Member of the board of the Pracownia Współtwórcza Foundation. Works on speculative and narrative-visual experiments. Builds the Worlds Machine after hours. Resident of Cracow’s Design Pharmacy. Illustrated Anna Cieplak’s book “Body of the Steelworks”.